Naruto: A Christmas Carol
by Peridot Tears
Summary: It's a Naruto version of A Christmas Carol. Merry Christmas, everyone! Please review! SakuNaru, but more SakuSas.
1. Chapter 1

**_NARUTO: A CHRISTMAS CAROL_**

**_PT: I hope you like this. This is a Naruto version of A Christmas Carol._**

**_Time: This is before the Chuunin exams and after the Land of Waves mission._**

**_Disclaimer: You have Kishimotou Masashi and Charles Dickens to thank for opening up their wonderful worlds to you._**

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Christmas Eve-Konoha, 7:00 A.M.

Sasuke grumpily let out a puff of air through his nostrils as he looked outside. He hoped his mission would come to an end soon as he helped Sakura organize the sake cups. Another D-ranked mission. Today, Naruto had complained for half an hour as Team 7 received their mission.

----------------------------------------------------FLASHBACK--------------------------------------

Tsunade handed the paper to Sasuke. "Your mission today is D-ranked. It's a simple request from a villager: The villager is holding a Christmas party tonight at his house. Only, he has to go out and do some last minute holiday shopping. So he requested that you prepare the house for his party while he's out."

Naruto immediately began whining.

"Awwwww. But Tsunade-baachan! It's Christmas Eve! We can't get one day off or at least get a better mission!?!?!?"

Tsunade looked sternly at the blonde knucklehead.

"You are expected to do what you must for your village," she said in short, clipped tones.

Sakura was clearly embarrassed. Her face made that very clear.

"And stop calling me old!" the slug Sannin added. A small temple was pulsing on her forehead.

As Team 7 marched off, Naurto's grumbles and moans could be heard all the way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------BACK TO THE PRESENT------

Sasuke allowed himself a grin at the memory as he watched the falling snow outside. _That dobe…_

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke spun around, startled.

Sakura was done arranging the sake. She was looking at the clock on the wall, determined not to meet the Uchiha's gaze.

"D-did you just smile?" she stammered, turning red.

Sasuke scowled "No."

"Done!" came the cheer. Sasuke and Sakura looked around. Naruto had hung the mistletoe in the doorway, sniggering. Sasuke gulped at the thought of ending up under it with another person. That kiss with Naruto was enough…

"I think we're done now." Sakura was purple in the face now.

Sasuke nodded curtly.

"I'm home!" a voice came from the front door as it opened.

"Oh! The owner's back!" Sakura squealed.

The three genin scurried through the halls as one, past doors and into the mud room, where the house's owner stood.

"I'll see how you shinobi did." He said stepping past them. He was a good-looking young man, 5"1 feet tall, with brown hair slightly spiked and pupil-less, blue-green eyes. As he passed, he gave Sasuke an approving look, Sakura, a long, flirtatious look and Naruto, a cold glare. Sasuke answered the man's expressions immediately. He twisted his deadpan expression to a glare upon seeing him glare at Naruto. Sakura, with a glance at Sasuke, immediately turned her innocent look into a ferocious glare. Whatever Sasuke was doing, she was doing it. Naruto, of course, glared icily at the man.

The man looked away.

He headed to the kitchen. The three genin could hear him walking around, inspecting everything.

"Er…Sasuke…" Sakura mumbled, taking advantage of the man's absence, "There's a Christmas party at my house today. You're invited."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Nah," Sasuke looked away before saying coldly, " I don't want to be annoyed."

"Oh…" Sakura was clearly hurt.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto muttered, "Can I come?"

Sakura hesitated. She really didn't want to invite him, but all the Rookie 9 and Team Gai would be there.

"Sure," She said finally, "We'll go to my house together. The party starts half an hour from now.

Sasuke closed his eyes as Naruto's cheers echoed around the house. Christmas… Sasuke didn't want to think about it. It pained him with memories of spending it with his family…

"You can go now. Great work."

Sasuke opened his eyes. The man was back. They nodded curtly at each other. Then, the shinobi left. _What a cold day._ Sasuke thought as he and his friends stepped out. A blast of wind came by, spraying snow into their faces. _In more ways than one._

"See ya…Sasuke." Sasuke didn't turn around as he heard Sakura's voice, heartbroken. There was a pause.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto was obviously getting impatient.

"Right." Sakura turned and joined Naruto. They headed off. Sasuke still didn't turn.

He just started walking home, alone and cold, not a friend in the world beside him.

77777777777777Sasuke's Home777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Sasuke sat down wearily on a sofa in his room and closed his eyes. He had been working all day today and was quite tired. A great weariness settled over him. His head began to droop.

"Christmas," He mumbled, "Bah, humbug."

_Bah humbug._

His mind agreed with him as he drifted off into darkness…

_Clunk._ Sasuke's eyes flew open as he heard the sound. He had fallen asleep. There it was again.

_Clunk._ Sasuke tensed. There was someone in his room.

_Clunk._ Was it an enemy shinobi?

_Clunk._ Sasuke activated his sharingan and leapt out of the sofa and stood up straight, ready to fly. Only, what he saw was worse than an enemy shinobi. A thousand times worse.

"Mother!" he choked, backing away. No mistake.

Mikoto Uchiha stood before him, serene and loving as she had been in life. She wasn't any different from when she still walked the earth. The only difference was that she was slightly transparent.

"Sasuke," she whispered, " Listen to me. Tonight you will be visited by three spirits. They will tell you things of grave importance. If you heed what they tell you, your life will lead to happiness."

"Whuh?" Sasuke gripped what she said, yet still, he couldn't believe that his beloved mother stood before him.

"Sasuke." Mikoto whispered, "I don't want you to end up like Itachi. Your future is clouded. Please, I beg you to heed the three spirits and me tonight."

She began to fade away.

"No! Wait!" Sasuke sprang to his senses at one and leapt up, reaching out…His fist closed upon air.

"No!"

The raven-haired Uchiha sobbed, stumbling as he collapsed on his bed. He sobbed into his pillow, willing for his mother to return, for it to all come back. If only…

The sad teen's fist closed upon the pillow as he cried to sleep, mind whirling, a pain in his chest…

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**_PT: I hope this was good. I'm begging for reviews. I rrrrrreeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllly hope you enjoyed this._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**NARUTO: A CHRISTMAS CAROL**_

_**PT: Thanks to Solarius Scorch, AshuriiItachisgirl01 and Subuku no Jess for their reviews! **_

_**Time: This is before the Chuunin exams and after the Land of Waves mission.**_

_**Disclaimer: You have Kishimoto Masashi and Charles Dickens to thank for opening up their wonderful worlds to you.**_

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Christmas Eve-Konoha, 11:00 P.M.

Sasuke blinked and opened his eyes. He stared at the clock next to his bed. 11:00. Sasuke stared at it, just stared as his mind wandered elsewhere. _What am I doing in bed?_

Then, he remembered. He remembered what had happened and wished he hadn't. He recalled his mother, slightly transparent, telling him about the spirits. Tears swept down his face as he recalled seeing her again, and fading away just as he had sprung to his senses. Why did she have to die? Why did Itachi have to kill her? Why did Itachi kill any of his clan, his own family...

Sasuke's mind, heart and very soul filled with hatred as he remembered Itachi, the ninja, man, the _brother_ he had sworn to kill. Sasuke's hand unwittingly formed into a fist, squeezing till the knuckles were white.

_Clunk._ This time, Sasuke was ready. He activated his Sharingan and jumped off his bed. Who was the spirit?

The raven-haired Uchiha looked around, his reflexes ready.

Nothing.

Still, Sasuke was cautious. He couldn't see one hint of chakra, though, no matter how hard he looked.

_Do ghosts even have chakra?_

"No, we don't," a voice behind Sasuke said. Sasuke's eyes widened as he spun around, pulling a kunai out of his weapons pouch as he did. He was angry. Very angry. So angry, he was ready to go mad. That voice...it sounded like...

"NARUTO! HOW DARE YOU SNEAK INTO MY HOUSE TO PULL A PRANK! I'M GONNA--"

Sasuke's threat was never completed. Instead, his breath caught in his throat and the genin stared at the owner of the voice. No way... This kid sounded so much like Naruto... Yet...

...It wasn't Naruto.

A boy of about Sasuke's age with spiky black hair was standing in front of him, goggles on. He was slightly transparent, like Mikoto. He had spoken. Did he read Sasuke's mind?

There was a long silence. It could have lasted four...five minutes. It could have even been an hour, but Sasuke would never find out. Finally, the spirit impatiently spoke up.

"Alright! I'm Obito and I'm the Spirit of Christmas Past! TEBAYO!"

Sasuke's eye twitched. "You sound just like that dobe Naruto," he growled.

Obito smiled proudly. "I take that as a compliment! It's cause Uzumaki Naruto's my sensei's--"

Sasuke impatiently snarled "I don't care about your sensei! Why are you here? Don't tell me that you're some distant relative of Naruto or something. I don't need two dobes harrassing me." What was wrong with him? Why wasn't he scared of this ghost?

Obito looked offended.

"I'm _your_ relative, you baka," he growled. "I'm Uchiha Obito of the Uchiha clan! I died in battle! You can find my name on the memorial stone!"

_He really has no shame or embarrassment,_ Sasuke thought, a sweat drop sliding down from the back of his head.

"I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past! I will haunt you with your past tonight!" Obito yelled.

Sasuke, usually dignified, glared at him. "You said _Spirit_ of Christmas a few moments ago."

Obito glared back. "Spirit... Ghost... No difference. Sounds just like Kakashi..." he muttered.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask how this so-called Uchiha knew his goofy sensei, Obito grabbed his hand and dragged him to the window. The windows were heavily frosted by the blizzard outside and you couldn't even see out of them. Sasuke was sure that it was impossible to open the window, but tonight, he was already visited by two spirits. He really didn't doubt opening a mere window.

Sure enough, Obito expertly snapped his fingers right in front of the window's frame. The window immediately opened, bringing in the force of the blizzard outside. Sasuke wasn't prepared for it. He thought he could take a bit of the blizzard. He was wrong.

With a cry of surprise, the wind and snow battering into his face, Sasuke fell backwards. He flung his arms out in front of his face. As he fell, the sleet pounded down on him. Only, Obito was dry and unmoving. The blizzard didn't affect him at all. It went right through him.

_Lucky, _Sasuke thought bitterly, envy brimming over. He gingerly stood up and tugged at his arm warmers. He suddenly remembered Obito was there and stopped. He consciously let go of his arm warmer and dropped his arms. He quickly gave Obito a glare. The ghostly Uchiha glared back, but his eyes were twinkling. He was _amused_.

Sasuke frowned and turned away from Obito.

"Well," Obito said as he closed the window, "We're going to do a little time-traveling into the past."

Sasuke spun around to glower at his deceased relative.

"Time travel?" he hissed. "Why do we need to go out to do that? Can't it be done indoors?"

Obito was visibly trying to look serious. Unfortunately, Obito was never really one to keep a stone face.

"It was a joke," he said, voice brimming with amusement. "It was just a prank on you. What, scared of the big, bad blizzard?"

Sasuke's eyes flashed. Great, just great. Sakura had caught him smiling and now a knuckleheaded ghost had fooled him into freezing himself? Now, he was being mocked.

Sasuke moodily shoved his hands into his pockets and deadpanned, "I'm not scared of anything."

Obito rolled his eyes. "Sure."

Sasuke bit his lip as he restrained himself from lashing out at this dead ninja. However, there wasn't any point, seeing as he won't be able to touch him. Wait, how did Obito touch_ his_ hand?

Obito grabbed his hand again.

"Keep your window shut and don't try to move," he warned Sasuke. "We're going back a few years."

How strange those words sounded.

With a quick hand sign on one hand, Obito murmured something and he and Sasuke disappeared in a small flash of blue light.

Silence fell upon Uchiha Sasuke's room and the only evidence that what had happened just happened were the damp spots on the bed and melting blizzard remnants on the floor.

77777777777777Konoha Academy, December 23, 11:00 P.M.777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

The students of Konoha Academy frolicked about, playing tag, having snowshuriken (crude shurikens molded out of snow by means of chakra) fights and building snow figures. Everyone was having so much fun...well...that is...almost everyone.

Two ten year olds stood out from all the rest, having no part of the fun and joy. These two boys were similar in many ways, yet they were so different at the same time.

One could be described by many as an emo boy, yet no one called him that. He was a respected heir to the elite Uchiha clan, top in everything. A year ago, he would have gladly accepted an invitation to play with his fellow students for a little while, if he had the free time. Unfortunately, his heart was, by now, shrouded in cold, hate and misery. He had no idea what destiny had in store for him in the future. If he had known, he could have --_could have_-- turned his back on his fate and gone off with friends and forgotten, even if for a little while, about the night he turned out...well...emo, to say the least. Then, his life could have gone on differently. Either way, he had accepted to give his all in killing the darkness that had slaughtered all his beloveds. Even if he knew of his intended fate, decided by destiny, it was nearly impossible to turn his back on killing...Itachi... Everyone liked this boy, but the boy himself liked no one.

The other boy was different. The young blond child was treated like no better than carrion for all his life. He was an innocent child who had never harmed anyone, but his pain had changed him into a prankster. Even now, he would have gladly hung out with someone. He was an orphan, just like the other boy, but this child never knew his parents. Others knew, few others that he should have known but never knew as of yet. Things may have been different if his father hadn't sealed a monster within him, but there's no telling now. He wanted someone to be there for him, a friend and he deserved one. Yet, everyone seemed to want him dead. He could have simply died; there was no difference between death and his so-called life, yet the boy was determined.

Both boys were determined...

...Their names were Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.

A teenage Sasuke now stared at his younger self as he stood by his dead kin's side.

"That was...me?" he murmured.

Obito looked at him sympathically. "Obviously, yes," he replied.

Sasuke couldn't believe it; he looked so pathetic! How could he have been so stupid and weak at the time?

"I look like a weasel!" Sasuke snarled. "So weak and pathetic!"

Obito shot him a sharp look. He had misunderstood Sasuke. He had thought Sasuke was talking about how he pushed everyone away and hurt them...and himself.

"I didn't mean being weak," Obito said frostily. "I mean how you're hurting everyone, including yourself. Look at that! You're so self-centered, sitting in your personal little emo corner."

"Hn..." Sasuke turned away to look at something, anything, other than himself. He could feel a warmth around his ears and suddenly felt hot. Very hot. So hot, even the cold day didn't touch him. It was a very cold day, crisp and clean.

_Emo, bah..._

"Sasuke-kun!"

Alarmed, Sasuke turned around at the sound of a young voice, clear and sweet. It was like music.

A young girl with jade green eyes and pale pink hair was waving at the younger Sasuke. Obito was looking over his shoulder at Sasuke, with a you-better-see-this look on his face.

"Don't worry, we're in the past but you might as well be a snowflake," Obito said seriously and grabbed Sasuke by the arm. "Take a look. No one can tell that you're here. If you bump into someone, they'd go right through you."

Sasuke didn't bother fighting Obito as he was dragged forward to observe what was going on. The pink-haired girl was running up to the younger Sasuke now, eyes sparkling.

_Sakura..._

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as she reached him. "Are you okay today?"

The younger Sasuke gave her a cold look.

"Fine," he said stiffly. Sakura brightened.

"It would be even better if you went and took a hike..."

Little Sasuke turned around as Sakura gasped in pain. Her eyes were glittering, giving her an even cuter look. Although her tears weren't red, her eyes looked like bleeding jade crystals.

"...Sakura..."

At that age, Sasuke had hated to hurt anyone and his habit of acknowledging someone by their name was still there.

Sakura's eyes seemed to light up. She looked so happy that her tears flowed at an even more powerful rate. Yet this time, those weren't tears of pain. They were those of happiness. Happiness that the boy she loved had acknowledged her, said her name. At that moment, she forgot all about what he had told her about taking a hike and turned around.

"Sasuke-kun..."

Sakura started to run towards the entrance of the academy, where a blond girl was waiting.

"Ino-chan! He did it!" Sakura squealed happily as she got up to her friend. "He said my name!"

"That's great Sakura!" Ino beamed as she looked at Sakura's glowing face.

The teenage Sasuke stared at the young ninjas-to-be and turned away. So he used to be this soft?

Obito turned to look at the genin.

"You hurt Sakura today," he said simply.

Sasuke turned back to meet Obito's gaze.

"What's your point?" he asked. "She'll get over it. It's just a stupid crush."

He had said the wrong thing. Obito's eyes flashed and his nostrils flared.

"You thickhead," he hissed angrily. "This is real love!"

Sasuke glared at the challenge in Obito's eyes.

"It doesn't matter," he retorted. "It's not like this is going to do any more harm."

Obito glared fire and battle axes at him. "It will," he said, his voice surprisingly soft. "I'd know. The love of my life and I were both killed because of love and someone like you."

"Hn..."

"You don't understand," Obito muttered. "Your team is like a second generation of mine. You're the Kakashi. I'm the Naruto and Rin's the Sakura. It seems that your sensei is mine..."

Sasuke was confused. What was this guy going on about? Kakashi? Who was Rin?

He didn't have time to prod, however, when Obito recollected himself and grabbed his wrist. Sasuke didn't fight back.

With a few hand seals, Obito brought the teen back in a blue flash of light. The flash went, unnoticed by anyone. No, not yet. It will happen, but only years later will the light have to do with anything. Someday...

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_**PT: See? Subuku no Jess, you're right. I did plan for the Ghost of Christmas past to be Obito! Who will be the next ghost? Find out by reading the next chapter! Please review!**_


	3. Emergency Message!

Dear everyone,

There's not much time. I can't go on the internet anymore. If I come back, I'll private message to you if you want. Tell me in a review. My mom's so annoying!

Till then,

PT


	4. Chapter 3

NARUTO: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

_**PT: OMG. Arigatou gozaimasu for those of you who have been supporting me in this fic. I humbly thank you. Anyway, sorry to keep you waiting; I had other fics and writer's block on this one. Yes, well, writers' block will never stop me! I'm going to complete this story, 'coz I never give up! On with the story!**_

_**Time: This is before the Chuunin exams and after the Land of Waves mission.**_

_Disclaimer: You have Kishimoto Masashi and Charles Dickens to thank for opening up their wonderful worlds to you._

_I don't own any of CASCADA's songs and have no wish to; I can't stand to sing with someone listening! Besides, they kind of ruined What Hurts The Most in their music video._

_Note(s): Does Uzumaki Kushina qualify as tall or short? She's about the same height as Minato and he's 5"11, about six inches taller than me and I'm twelve. To me, they're short, but I'm not so sure. Oh, and Team Gai's there because, for the sake of this fic, Team Seven met them after they got back from the Land of Waves._

Christmas Eve-Konoha, 11:20 P.M.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and the young genin awoke with a gasp. He choked on his own breath and his eyes watered.

_Huh?_

Sasuke wondered why, at the first thing he noticed, he was in bed, wet.

_Did I wet the bed?_

Sasuke blushed, even though no one was there.

He pushed the covers aside and noticed that there were a lot of puddles on the floor and jumped off his bed. Sasuke cautiously bent down and touched one on the floor. It was slightly cold.

The blizzard was roaring outside, but Sasuke could see that one of his windows was loose… Well, it looked loose. A cool draft was coming from its edges.

_Hmph. Obito, when I die, you will pay. I will pant you in front of that Rin person you've mentioned._

Sasuke shut his eyes. _It was a dream… A dream…_

He tried to convince himself but it wasn't so. What had just happened…was no dream…

He turned, cautiously looking for more spirits. He could not see any, but he was wary. He was surprised by his mother and Obito; that will not happen again.

Why did ghosts make a clunking noise? Sasuke did not know, but he kept his ears pricked, knowing that there would be a noise.

"Hmph, think you could actually be alerted to me?"

Sasuke spun around. That voice… It was feminine, yet had a hard edge to it, sharp as Sasuke's sharpened kunai.

He was prepared this time, but he could see no resemblance to anyone he knew in this ghost. He knew this person was a ghost, but he wondered why she made no noise, unlike the other spirits. _What…?_

"Who are you?!" he blurted out. He saw resemblance only in her face, slightly.

She had the same eyes, same mischievous look on her face as…

"Are you related to Naruto?" Sasuke added.

The deceased kunoichi made a face. Her hair was unusually long, about as long as Jiraiya-sama's, but it was straight and fiery red. Her eyes were blue and had the same shape as Naruto's eyes. She was kind of tall for a woman like her and Sasuke noticed that her hitai-ate had a symbol that he had never seen before.

There was a look of sorrow in her eyes and pain on her face. She quickly erased the expression with a grin.

"Listen, brat," the woman said, pointing at his chest, "I need to know about Naruto. How is he?"

Sasuke was puzzled. "Nani? Why?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Just interested. I just knew his father."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He had never thought of Naruto's parents before. _Who were they?_

"Who was his father?" _Why'd he leave his son alone? _he added silently to himself.

The kunoichi scowled.

"None of your business," she said sternly. "All I could say is that he was a great man."

Sasuke kept his tongue after that.

The woman cleared her throat. "Anyway," she began, "I'm Kushina and I'm here to be the Ghost of Christmas Present tonight. Time to see what's goin' on now!"

Sasuke's eye twitched slightly. There was definitely no way out of this.

"Fine," he sighed.

Kushina grabbed his hand – how could a ghost touch him anyway? – and hauled him over to the window, where the blizzard was still pounding mercilessly at the glass.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Oh no!" he groaned, but made no attempt to jerk his hand away; his last encounter with Obito had taught him enough.

"Aw, come on." Kushina glanced at him. "You're not scared of a little cold and wet, are you? Take it like a man!" Her eyes gleamed merrily in amusement.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed inwardly.

_Easy for you to say; this blizzard won't affect you._

Sasuke reached out reluctantly and grasped the window's edge. With a final, forceful shove, he slid it open…and was pelted with what felt like endless showers of freezing cold needles.

Sasuke's hair blew back and his face was already visibly turning rosy, seeing as he was freakishly pale.

Kushina's hand tightened on his wrist and with a leap, she jumped out the window, bringing Sasuke with her.

Sasuke's reddened face paled; he was falling to the ground from his room, which was pretty high… At least, high enough to break someone's neck if they jumped out of it.

The Uchiha gulped and nearly screamed as the wind blew into his face, his stomach produced a sudden, swooping sensation and the teen panicked. He snapped his head left to look at Kushina instead of the ground, with a somewhat pleading expression on his face.

Kushina's face was expressionless.

Sasuke screamed, "Are you crazy?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?!"

The words were out of his mouth before he remembered that Kushina was already dead. The boy… Er, he must have achieved the status of a man on his last mission, well, the man…the man/boy…thing…teen boy…teenage guy…felt incredibly stupid before remembering the situation.

With a sudden jolt, Kushina swooped forward and Sasuke felt himself being lifted upwards, higher…higher…higher… Before he knew it, the emo guy was floating in the sky, right in the middle of a cloud.

He looked down and saw Konoha below him, visible through the cloud's thick mist. Sasuke felt a lurch in his stomach; it was so high! Up there, the Uchiha felt incredibly scared and realized…he had acrophobia.

"We won't be going far," Kushina said and Sasuke remembered that she was holding him. The thought of being held by a transparent ghost kilometers above solid ground was absolutely horrifying. "We just can't be seen."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. _People will think they've_ _been hallucinating, _he thought. _A flying Uchiha? Come on!_

The streets were busy with random villagers running around, doing whatever they did on Christmas, even it was just about midnight.

77777777777777A certain girl's home777777777777777777777777

Kushina and Sasuke descended on the balcony of –

"What are we doing at Sakura's place?" Sasuke asked sharply.

Why did it seem that this whole night was devoted to Sakura?

Kushina rolled her eyes. "You know, Naruto is here too."

Sasuke groaned inwardly. _Damn… That dobe again._

He did not catch the anxious gleam in Kushina's eye.

Kushina dragged him over to a window that displayed the living room and muttered, "Be alert. You don't want to be caught spying on your girlfriend."

Sasuke immediately turned a violent shade of – think of the color Hinata's face would produce if Naruto ran up to her, hugged her, kissed her and screamed in a gooey voice, "I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH, HINATA, HONEY!!" – yeah, _that_ color.

"N – N – NANI?!" he screamed in that whispery kind of way. "SHE IS _NOT_ MY GIRLFRIEND!!"

Kushina just rolled her eyes again.

"Just look, dobe."

An invisible dull kunai end met Sasuke in the face, dead center.

_Dobe? _No one, not one person, ever called him dobe, _ever_.

"You–"

'Watch!"

There was, indeed, a Christmas party in Sakura's living room. All of the Rookie Nine were there, not to mention Team Gai. Only, Sasuke could see Sakura and Naruto in a corner, where no one noticed them. They were discussing something in what seemed to be quiet voices. Sakura was crying. Naruto's face showed a mixture of anger and sympathy.

"Activate your Sharingan," Kushina murmured. Sasuke glanced at her before he did so and was shocked to see the expression on the kunoichi's face. She looked as if she were about to cry, staring through the window, eyes trained longingly on something. Sasuke followed her gaze and found himself looking at Naruto. He was confused. Kushina was staring at him with pride and pain.

Sasuke was distracted, however, when he read his comrades' lips.

"It's okay," Naruto was murmuring to Sakura.

Sakura gave a huge sob and put her face in her hands, fresher tears flowing out. She seemed to have said something, for a moment later, Naruto murmured, "He's just like that. I'll bet that he likes you, but he's…well…"

Sakura flung her arms around Naruto and squeezed, sobbing into his shoulder. Sasuke's heart, already split in two, years ago, was ripped into quarters.

Naruto patted her back.

Sasuke could tell that they were talking about him and how he had treated Sakura earlier. He just knew it.

_**Last Christmas, I gave you my heart.**_

_**The very next day,**_

_**You gave it away**_

The song inside bled out through the windows and touched Sasuke's ears.

Unable to look any longer, the genin turned his back on the window.

His hair fell into his face, shadowing his expression.

"Naruto…"

Sasuke heard Kushina's voice, that longing lust in her voice, a melancholy tone to top it off.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto… You look just like Minato…"  
Sasuke's ears pricked.

"Forgive us, please, I would have done anything to give you a better life…"

Sasuke twitched slightly as he put two and two together.

"Your father would have been proud of the person you have become."

Sasuke came up with the four.

"You," he said softly, his face still hidden, "you're Naruto's _mother_."

There was a soft gasp.

"Yes," Kushina murmured. "Naruto is my son."

It was funny, in the strange way, that she would admit it so willingly.

"Time to go, gaki," Kushina muttered.

Without another word, she turned to escort the onyx-haired ninja back.

_**PT: Phew, I'm so glad that I've updated! W00T! Yeah, I was still considering whether or not I would use Haku for the present ghost instead, but I imagined that Kushina would like to see her son and I thought about using ghosts Sasuke didn't know when they were alive. Anyway, I tried to put some humor in here. I think I've failed miserably, but I do like a lighter atmosphere ' Normally, I don't really like the pairing of Sakura and Naruto, but I thought I could give it a shot. They do, after all, bond a little more along the series. Well, ja ne till next week! **_


	5. Chapter 4

_**NARUTO: A CHRISTMAS CAROL**_

_**PT: Back again!**_

**_-Dodges flying fruit-_**

**_I know! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry that I haven't updated for five months now! I really am sorry! I don't have any excuses but I had writers' block! Thank you for all your reviews! I mean it!_**

**_One more thing you must note here: Asian graveyards are not the same as American and European ones. I'm Chinese, and if you speak stereotypically, I've obviously gone to China before. On one visit, I was visiting an ex-relative's grave in WuHan. The Chinese don't bury their dead; they burn the bodies in these hugs pot things in front of these giant steps with rows of tombstones on them. The pots are -- you know -- cauldrons. The tombstones are very smooth, and kin of the deceased would have it designed with statues on it sometimes; they also leave flowers and the tombstones I saw have those lei things with cloth flowers hung on the stone. There are also photos. Also, there are a couple of buildings in the cemetery; in one you can buy flower and this special money to burn as an offering to the dead, and there's those weird candles things. On that visit I used those candle things a lot. I don't know what you call them, but they're sticks, usually small thin ones, and you put this in some small blaze to light the end. They light, and you need to blow the flame out -- either that or they just immediately smoke; don't remember that well, it was three years ago. After you blow, there's a trial of smoke emitting from the candle thing. You stick that into pots and small stand things filled with dirt or something. In this case, the cauldron already has a small flame for you to light the candle with, and you just stick it to the bottom. It seems to happen only in certain times a day; again, don't remember the best. You can either burn the money in those, or, I only saw this for one isolated tombstone, in a small blaze in front of a stone. The other building is where there's this room. It has these things that are like bookshelves and the things in a bank vault. There are small compartments, locked, with plastic doors. The compartments are filled with things of each individual dead person's belongings, and photos of them. Kin of the dead get keys, open them, and can put flowers in those as well. That's how it was like at the cemetery I visited. I watched scene in Naruto once when Tsunade and Dan were visiting the cemetery. I sort of instantly saw that it was the same as a Chinese cemetery. (Well...Chinese and Japanese are kind of uncannily similar....) Note that for the part in this story, in case you get confused. With some more research, I think I was at the Hubei cemetery. The photos and name -- "Hubei" -- is fair evidence._**

**_EDIT: On further research, I learned that the candle things are called incense sticks._**

_**Time: This is before the Chuunin exams and after the Land of Waves mission.**_

_**Disclaimer: You have Kishimoto Masashi and Charles Dickens to thank for opening up their wonderful worlds to you.**_

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Christmas Eve-Konoha, 11:50 P.M.

"What the...?"

Sasuke spun around. _CEMETERY? What the hell am I doing in a cemetery!_

He turned around to see Kushina; she was gone.

"KUSHINA!" Rising panic rose in his chest. Why had Kushina left him here?!

--FLASHBACK--

Kushina was flying with Sasuke towards his home, when suddenly--

Kushina stopped in midair.

Sasuke immediately looked down, instinctively.

"Kushina?" he asked the kunoichi. He was puzzled, and a little scared.

Not only was he kilometers off the ground, supported only by a_ transparent_ ghost, but the ghost had stopped.

"Kushina?

"Oi!" he added when she didn't answer. Panic rose in his throat. Acrophobia crowded his mind. Upon noticing, he gave his nerves a mental thrust to avoid it, doing very little avail. "Uzumaki! OI!"

She plunged.

She dove downwards,to hit the ground painfully, dead within an instant. towards the earth, without warning and increasing speed.

"UUUUUUU--!" Sasuke's scream was cut off as he neared the earth, and he was sure that he was about to die. He squeezed his eyes shut, and tightened his grip on the ghostly woman's hand. He didn't mourn; he didn't cry. Instead, one thought clouded him, filled with confusion.

_Kushina...why are you doing this? You're going to...kill me...?_

That was the first thing that came to his mind, and he absolutely hated how sappy it sounded. He felt like some character from a childish manga; it made his skin tingle with heat.

Nevertheless, he did not have long to feel embarrassed.

He was soon three feet from the ground, and he snapped his eyes shut upon reflex. Horror didn't even have time to engulf him in its tide.

One would have expected to hit the solid, hard ground painfully -- and die before he'd notice. Then, he would be nothing, no longer Uchiha Sasuke -- but the remains of Uchiha Sasuke -- a bit of blood, bone, flesh and gore on the ground. he would no longer amaze his villagers and make his enemies tremble at his stealth and heritage. He would make people vomit, feel bile, at the site of his broken body, innards spilled.

So, the sickening feeling of breaking upon contact with the ground was to be expected.

The feeling never came. The grip on his hand slackened, and Sasuke felt movement freeze.

Sasuke kept his eyes shut, in case he was hallucinating and still had not yet hit the harsh solid. Perhaps he was already dead, and had deceased so quickly that there was no time for pain. He waited with an anxiety that he rarely felt.

One minute...

Two...

Perhaps he was already dead after all? No, Kushina's hand was still clutching his.

Then again, she was a ghost.

Three...

Sasuke's impatience kicked in, and something in him urged him forward.

_Just a peek, Sasuke, _a tiny voice crooned. A voice was in his mind...perhaps it was -- feminine? It took the Uchiha only a while more before familiarizing with the gentle, maternal tone.

Uchiha Mikoto. His mother. He heard her...heard her...and immediately reveled in the gentle love in the voice. He had not heard this motherly sound for what seemed like so long; and maybe it was that long. Long ago, when Sasuke was scared, and his mother convinced him that the object of his fright was not as bad as he viewed it. She had taught him bravery. And Sasuke remembered; happier times, once when he had a mother, a father, a clan. And a brother that loved him.

_You'll be all right Sasuke. Come on now, open those eyes. _Sasuke clenched his fists with the memories suddenly bursting in his head.

_Okay...I'll try...Kaasan... _Without further ado, the young genin opened his eyes.

He found himself staring down at a tombstone. Etched onto the gray surface was the epitaph, words still slightly fresh. Sasuke's trained eyes immediately deciphered the text; and his eyes widened in shock, a chill swept down his spine.

**UZUMAKI NARUTO**

**The greatest ninja in history**

**Rokudaime Hokage**

**Died defending his village**

**And doing justice in the end**

**Died age 18**

**Rest In Peace**

--BACK TO THE PRESENT--

"KUSHINAAAA!" Sasuke stared around in something that resembled panic. He could hardly believe it; she had left him. Left him in this graveyard to...to...

Sasuke gulped and shot the grave another glance, just to make sure -- that it was not some sort of illusion, a hallucination, a dream, a trick in his cornea's work.

The name at the top confirmed his fears.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the tombstone taunted at him, seeming to flash the name that was taboo in Sasuke's mind. "Uzumaki Naruto," the letters read. "Uzumaki Naruto, the greatest ninja in history.

"Rokudaime Hokage. Died defending his village. And doing justice in the end. Died age eighteen.

"Rest in peace," it said.

"Rest in peace," it confirmed to Sasuke. The text seemed to flash and ripple under the nighttime moon's light, as if it were standing out deliberately to hurt Sasuke; and it did hurt. Naruto -- he was gone. Gone.

_Gone._

Tears formed in Sasuke's eyes as he tried to gather himself and heard the word in his mind. Gone. Naruto was _gone._ The words were poison to him. Gone...

"Naruto...," he whispered at the stone, as if speaking to the boy's spirit. "Naruto...what happened?" He crouched, a small form, in front of the grave. "What happened, dobe...." His hands were chilled and pale already; the night was cold; he let his hands crawl up to the stone, and clutched it. He tightened his grip around the stone, clinging; clinging for dear life. "You can't...," he suddenly whimpered, putting his face close to the stone. "Naruto...you can't be..." There was a lump in his throat; he couldn't bring himself to say the word. All that came out was the whimper of "Naruto." His name. Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto.

"Naruto," he sobbed; and it suddenly came to mind that there was nothing on the small little stone that declared his friend's death. There were plenty of flowers, but--

Sasuke jumped and gasped when he felt a finger tap him roughly on the shoulder. There was a gritty feel to it. He immediately spun around, and rage bubbled up quickly in his bosom as he remembered that he was being disturbed in a moment of mourning.

In the next moment, Sasuke forgot his anger as it was lost in fear; he froze, intimidated by the sudden figure that towered over him on a tower of -- sand--

The Uchiha trembled slightly before backing away slightly. "You..." His breath froze in his throat. Choking and spluttering slightly, Sasuke heaved, "Are...Are you..."

Tendrils of sand, twisting and undulating; cold, dead teal eyes; the ironic kanji character, "love," imprinted on the brow; the soulless face expression; the small figure upon the cloud of sand, sand, sand...

A frightening, imposing figure above Sasuke brought a lump to the Uchiha's throat. "Are you...," Sasuke managed, "ghost...Future...Chri -- Ghost of Chri -- stma -- s...Future?"

Silence.

Sasuke felt a chill run down his spine. Forcefully he tried again. "Are...you...the...ghost...of...Christmas Fu--" He stopped when the figure pointed.

Following the finger's direction, the young ninja saw the thing that horrified him the most. "Sakura..."

There she was, an older Sakura, a graver Sakura, mournful, sober, quiet, her hair down and eyes downcast. The green emeralds that were her eyes were dull, depressed and lifeless. She was approaching the grave, daisies in her left hand. Sasuke hastily stepped aside from her, forgetting that he was hardly there at all, and she walked to the tombstone, where she crouched and laid the flowers down.

Sasuke stared at her, her and her aging figure; she must have been twenty by this time. Had Naruto's death ravaged her to this? Was it so bad?

_Sakura, _he thought, grieving -- wishing he could reach out and touch her on the shoulder, comfort her, like the friend he was.

He turned his head away from Sakura, who was sobbing slightly now; the sight was too much to bear.

He felt the pain -- felt the clawed hands clinging to his heart, icily, hurting him. The Uchiha put his pale hand over it, where the ironically warm heat spread to his fingertips. These were his friends.

Then he felt a tendril shake him out of his reverie, a tendril of sand that wrapped around his sandal. Startled, he spun around -- to face the ominous figure's teal eyes. His eyes widened slightly, but he asked, "How did...Naruto...he..."

The eyes glowed; Sasuke shrank back, wanting to run away as fast as he could...

Then the figure spoke, and his voice was dead as his eyes and face. Sasuke found it like talking to Death itself. "You did...Uchiha Sasuke. You left the village for power, to go after Itachi, and later attacked the village. By then Naruto was Rokudaime Hokage; he tried to convince you to stop, did battle...and you killed him. He died surrounded by ninjas who captured you, but he told them to be easy on you...." The figure fell silent again.

And Sasuke died within himself; he staggered backwards, shocked and grieving. "No...," he gasped. He fell to his knees; it couldn't be so; Naruto, dead by his hand--

"No..." He brought his hands to his head. "No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No..."

For how long he stayed on the ground, sobbing in shcok, trying not to admit the deed that had not yet occurred, he would not know -- but after some time he lifted his head again, eyes ruby-red from crying.

It was only then that he noticed a flame crackling in one of the pots at the foot of the cemetery. Only one.

He shook his head. "What...Who's being burned today?" he murmured to himself, and shook his head again. He clutched the ground's soil, dry and gritty.

It was then when he heard the voice -- "Why, yours, Sasuke" -- and-- Too late. He realized that the Ghost of Christmas Future was still there, as soon as an arm of sand had given him a forceful shove; he realized when the shove pushed him off the steps; realized when he found himself nearing the flames of the pot...when he was far from the reach of Sakura and Naruto's gravestone--

"Wait!" he cried, instinctively, and reached upwards; he could already feel the hungry flames lick at his body, the fiery punishment for his misdoings; and everything. The pain in his chest, the grieving, the love, the hatred and friendship... "Wait!" he screamed again, and added, "Please! I've seen my ways! I'm sorry! I'll repent! Please, give me another chance! Please, please, please.... I'm begging you!"

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**_PT: Good? Bad? I apologize for not updating D: Shoot me. Yeah...Gaara... Next chapter is the last, thanks to my readers for sticking to this story, thank you so much..._**

**_!!HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!_**


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